Telefonica has stepped up the process to find a buyer for its Movistar Chile subsidiary, with Liberty Latin America emerging as the most likely buyer, according to unnamed sources consulted by business daily El Economista. The Spanish group has been working with Citi and Morgan Stanley for over a year to find potential buyers for its Latin American assets as part of a restructuring plan to modulate its exposure to the region and reduce debt. It sold its Costa Rican mobile business to Liberty Latin America for around EUR 425 million last year and the companies have held talks over a similar deal in Chile, said the report.
However, Liberty Latin America already owns Chile’s leading fixed broadband and pay-TV operator VTR and a deal to acquire Movistar’s assets in the country could face regulatory scrutiny as the two companies would account for around two-thirds of fixed internet connections in the country, according to figures from telecom regulator Subtel.
Similar antitrust hurdles could prevent a sale to Chilean operators Entel and Claro (America Movil), as a combined Entel-Movistar and Claro-Movistar entity would account for around 57 percent and 52 percent of the mobile broadband market respectively, added the report.
